Nov. 16, 2006
NORFOLK, VA -- For Ryan Williams, the season picks up right where he left off. For Chris Brown the storybook is just beginning. Both are underclassmen and both are at the top of their game early in the 2006-07 season.
In the most recent released rankings by Amateur Wrestling News both Williams and Brown are ranked 20th in their respective weight classes; Williams is in the 141-pound class and Brown at 157.
Williams is the only wrestler returning to head coach Steve Martin's squad with an appearance at the NCAA Tournament last season and Martin will lean heavily on that experience. The sophomore made a name for himself last season going 29-15 leading the team in falls with 10. Williams is out to a quick start winning his match at the Purdue dual and then placing third at the Michigan State Open on Sunday falling in a very close match (6-5) to the second ranked wrestler in the nation Andy Simmons (MSU).
Brown has come out and looked positively unbeatable in his red-shirt freshman season. Wrestling in the 157 spot for Martin, Brown won his bout at Purdue in overtime and then took second place at the MSU open. Brown defeated three higher seeded foes at the Open and then fell to nationally ranked Matt Hill (Edinboro). Brown was the only freshman ranked in the 157-pound weight class and one of only nine rookies ranked nationally at all in the AWN poll.
Brown and Williams will look to improve their national status this weekend at the Cornell Body Bar in Ithaca, NY.